As I cautiously descended the stairs, the first thing that caught my eye was the Ogre’s back. It was positioned to prevent Eric and the others from retreating up the stairs. This Ogre seemed to possess a bit of cunning.
Beyond the Ogre, I could see Eric and his three companions already engaged in battle. They were facing two Goblins, and it appeared they had the upper hand in the 2-on-1 situation.
However, further ahead, there was a Goblin Knight wielding a sword and a Goblin Mage with a staff. The Goblin Mage was in the midst of casting a spell.
The Goblin Mage unleashed a 5th-tier Fire Magic spell, “Fireball.” A ball of fire, about the size of a volleyball, hurtled towards Thomas. I thought it might be an attack that would engulf his allies, but when the Goblin Knight shouted something, the Goblin fighting Thomas leaped aside, narrowly dodging the fireball. It seemed that even Monsters could coordinate to some extent.
Thanks to the Goblins’ impressive teamwork, Thomas was blown away, and Mary was caught in the blast. I didn’t think the fireball was large enough to kill them, so I deliberately didn’t intervene, but Thomas wasn’t moving at all. Did I misjudge the situation?
At the moment, I don’t have any skills to heal others. Thinking about it, should I have helped Thomas before he was defeated? While I was pondering this, Eric was sent flying by the Ogre. He managed to block with his sword at the last moment, but he was bouncing and rolling like a ball. Oh, he stopped after hitting a large rock. That looked incredibly painful.
If I remained silent any longer, someone would surely die. Apologizing to Eric and the others in my mind for observing them, I launched Stone Needles at the Ogre.
“UGOOOOOOOO!!”
The Ogre, with three sharp, 30cm-long stone rods protruding from its back, let out a scream of agony. The sheer volume of the sound made the Goblins flinch and stop moving. Seizing the opportunity, I unleashed Shining Arrows on the two subordinate Goblins. The arrows of light struck their targets precisely between the eyes. The two Goblins fell backward with a thud.
It was only now that the Monsters seemed to realize a new enemy had appeared. The Ogre turned to face me, glaring with rage, but upon seeing the five Water Bullets floating behind me, it stopped in its tracks and growled cautiously.
The Goblin Knight seemed to be doing the same, holding its sword but watching the Ogre’s movements.
Meanwhile, the Goblin Mage was chanting something. It sounded like the same chant as before, so it must be another Fireball. I knew from the appraisal that it could only use Fire Magic. It was a good thing I had Water Bullets ready.
As the Goblin Mage finished its chant, the same volleyball-sized fireball flew towards me. I fired one of the Water Bullets floating behind me, aiming to intercept the fireball.
My Water Bullet was about the size of a baseball, but it completely extinguished the fireball, which was more than twice its size, and continued straight towards the Goblin Mage without losing momentum. This was probably possible because my magic power was more than three times that of the Goblin Mage. The panicked Goblin Mage tried to block with its staff, but my Water Bullet shattered the staff and crushed the Goblin’s throat before finally dissipating.
The Goblin Mage fell forward. I didn’t know if it was dead, but with its throat crushed, it wouldn’t be able to chant anymore. I decided to leave it for now and fired the remaining four Water Bullets in quick succession at the Goblin Knight.
The Goblin Knight dodged the first one and deflected the second with its sword, but that was all it could manage. The third one took its right arm, sword and all, and the final one pierced a large hole in its chest, killing it instantly.
That left only the Ogre.
When I turned to face the Ogre, it seemed to think it had a chance now that I had used up my four Water Bullets. It raised its club in its right hand and charged at me with incredible speed.
(The Ogre’s attack power is only slightly lower than my defense. I wonder how strong a C-Rank Monster’s attack is. Let’s try taking one.)
In reality, my rank is D-Rank. Normally, it would be difficult to defeat a C-Rank Ogre. But with magic, I could probably easily defeat the Ogre in front of me. That was an undeniable fact based on my stats.
Is the Magic Beetle amazing, or am I just an odd existence?
It’s probably the latter. If that’s the case, then I should be fine taking this attack. I’ll deliberately take the hit to get a sense of my own strength. I’ll use my Hardening Skill just in case.
Seeing that I wasn’t moving, the green Ogre, as if certain of its victory, let out a roar and brought its club down.
CLANGGGGG!
After the sound of the club hitting something metallic, it was the Ogre’s club that shattered. My body didn’t have a single scratch. What a sturdy body. Perhaps the Hardening Skill was a big help this time.
The Ogre was dumbfounded, staring at the handle of its broken club. While the Ogre stood there in shock, I unleashed a 3rd-tier Water Magic spell, “Water Arrow.” This time, with added poison.
With a shwip sound, the water arrow pierced through the Ogre’s thick chest. Yeah, that’s an instant kill. The poison didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
With a hole in its heart, the Ogre collapsed on the spot. In the end, it seemed the Goblin Mage had also died when its throat was crushed. This battle ended in my overwhelming victory.
All that’s left is…
(Well, I got carried away, but what should I do now…)
~Side Eric~
My mutterings were drowned out by the Ogre’s roar. I wondered what was going on, but my question was quickly answered. Three long, cone-shaped stones were sticking out of the Ogre’s back. That was probably a 5th-tier Earth Magic spell, “Stone Needle.” Could it be that another Adventurer had come to help us?
A small glimmer of hope lit up in my heart, which had been prepared for death.
It seemed the Adventurer who came to help was on the 11th floor stairs. It was too dark to see clearly from here, but there was no sign of multiple people, so it was probably a solo Mage. A Mage who could reach this floor alone must be incredibly skilled.
While the Ogre was screaming, I saw two Goblins fall to light arrows, confirming my thoughts. Shining Arrow was a 4th-tier Light Magic spell. Not many people could use two magic attributes, in addition to the Stone Needle from before. You’d need exceptional talent to control multiple attributes.
Just as I was thinking that, the Goblin Mage fell after taking a 4th-tier Water Magic Water Bullet to the throat. Seriously, to pierce through the Fireball the Goblin Mage cast, shatter its staff, and then take it down, what kind of joke was that? Even if it was a higher-level spell, the power was insane. And with that, it was confirmed that they could use three attributes. I forgot that I was on the verge of death and was mesmerized by the sheer power of the magic.
There were only a handful of Mages in this world who could control three attributes. Either a famous high-rank Adventurer or the top court Mage serving some royal family. There was no way such a person would be in this beginner-level Underground Labyrinth. And when we were in town, there was no talk of such a famous person.
But the scene unfolding before my eyes was undoubtedly real.
Just as the Goblin Knight was taken down by Water Bullets, the Ogre started moving. Judging by the fact that the next spell didn’t come in time, it must have run out of magic power? The Ogre let out a roar as if it was certain of its victory and swung its club down.
Mages generally have low physical strength and defense. They make up for it with their magical attack power, but a Mage who has run out of magic power is as weak as a villager. If such a Mage were to take a full-force blow from an Ogre…
The light of hope that had just been lit was about to be extinguished.
There was a time when I thought that. But the next scene surprised me in two ways.
The defense that allowed it to withstand the Ogre’s attack unscathed, and its appearance, which was far from that of a Mage.
No, it wasn’t even human, let alone a Mage. Yes, the one who had come to our rescue was a silver Beetle.